North Carolina GOP leader says he's open to new election amid 9th District voter fraud controversy

N.C. GOP leader open to new vote in 9th district

Author:
William Cummings, USA TODAY

Published:
11:07 AM EST December 6, 2018

Updated:
6:21 PM EST December 6, 2018

Mark Harris speaks to the media during a news conference in Matthews, N.C., Nov. 7, 2018.

Chuck Burton, AP

WASHINGTON – A top North Carolina Republican is open to holding a new election in the race to represent the state's Ninth Congressional District in light of the evidence of voter fraud in the midterm election, CNN reported Thursday.

Dallas Woodhouse, executive director of the North Carolina Republican Party, told CNN reporter Drew Griffin that after watching the network's coverage of the allegations, he became so upset that he "threw up," according to a tweet from anchor Jim Sciutto.

"This has shaken us to the core," Woodhouse said, according to Sciutto.

Republican Mark Harris leads Democrat Dan McCready by 905 votes, according to the state's unofficial tally. Last week, the bipartisan state board of elections refused to certify the results because of reports of "irregularities" and "fraudulent activities" involving absentee ballots.

Breaking: Executive Director of NC Republicans says he’s open to new election in NC-9 Congressional race. Dallas Woodhouse told CNN’s Drew Griffin he was so upset after watching CNN’s coverage of alleged fraud last night, he threw up, “this has shaken us to the core.”

Republican political operative Leslie McCrae Dowless is accused of directing workers to directly collect the mail-in ballots, in violation of existing law. An analysis by the Charlotte Observer found that a low percentage of ballots in the district were returned in comparison with other districts in the state.

Most of the unreturned ballots belonged to African-American and Native American voters, the Observer reported.

On Monday, Woodhouse appeared to be firmly opposed to the idea of holding a new election, arguing on Twitter that no law allows for an election to be declared "null and void for irregularities that can’t be proven to possibly change the outcome."

McCready on Thursday withdrew his concession while calling on Harris to be honest about what he might know about the fraud allegations.

"I didn't serve overseas in the Marine Corps just to come back home and watch politicians and career criminals attack our democracy," McCready said in a video he tweeted.

I didn’t serve overseas in the Marines to come home to NC and watch a criminal, bankrolled by my opponent, take away people’s very right to vote. Today I withdraw my concession and call on Mark Harris to end his silence and tell us exactly what he knew, and when. pic.twitter.com/2hcT00DVhQ

House Democrats, who will hold the majority in the next session, have indicated they will not swear in Harris until an investigation into the allegations is concluded.

On Wednesday, Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., who sits on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, called for an emergency hearing on the situation in North Carolina.

"While the Republican majority is once again chasing conspiracies, real election fraud is playing out right before us in North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District," Connolly said in a statement. "Votes have been stolen by preying on senior and minority voters, and now a cloud of doubt and suspicion hangs over this election result."